Vesper hadn't even seen the bat coming.

  It had swooped him up before he could even blink with such force that he swore his neck had almost snapped from the whiplash. A shock, considering he possessed the perception and reaction speed of an assassin. This showed just how weakened he had become after the fight against the goblins.

  Though a part of him wished his neck had snapped then and there to free his mind from the excruciating pain of having his already badly hurt leg crushed in the bat's vice-like grip. It was beyond any pain he had ever experienced to the point that the edge of his vision was darkening as his body tried to go to sleep to escape the anguish, but he refused.

  He had to stay awake and try to find a way to live.

  "Let me go, you winged rodent!" he yelled, his voice hoarse. However, he didn't actually mean it. There was a reason he had refrained from chopping off the bat's leg despite having the opportunity to do so. All that lay below him was the abyss of the chasm. Falling from this height, even at his peak strength, would spell certain death.

  A fact the bat seemed to know, as it didn't appear in a hurry to silence him by striking him against the stalactites they were carefully navigating through. The horrifying question plaguing Vesper's mind as he was strung along by the bat was why. Why was it keeping him alive? Monsters grew stronger through killing, and their sole purpose for being born from the dungeon's mana was to kill invaders. Therefore, this seemed to go against their very nature.

  Perhaps there is an even bigger bat I'm to be fed to, Vesper thought as he gritted his teeth and tried to distract his mind from the pain. It wasn't working at all. Fucking hell, this hurts so much. I can hardly think straight. He closed his eyes, feeling sick from the constant swinging.

  I hope Randy and Valoria are still alive. Though I doubt it unless Gerald returned to save them in time. He sighed despite the pain. How had accepting an invitation from his friend to delve into the World Dungeon ended up with him teaming up with a talking monster wearing a Savior's skin, only to die at the claws of some measly Vampiric Bat that he would usually be able to kill with his eyes closed?

  He suddenly felt himself falling. His eyes snapped open just in time to throw his hands out to stop himself from eating a face full of rock, though it still hurt like a bitch as his knees clipped the stone. Groaning, he pushed himself up and glanced around. "Well, isn't this just great?" he cursed. He had been dumped on a rocky outcrop surrounded by nothing but darkness. I think I can hear the flow of water below, but it's too dark and far down to get a good look. Shit. What should I do now?

  The bat that had been carrying him circled around once before joining him on the rocky outcrop, its giant wings folded on its back as it looked down at him with hunger in its eyes.

  "Just try me," Vesper taunted, gripping his dagger's hilt behind his back. He may be injured, but he was still an armed C-grade assassin. While he didn't know the exact level of this Vampiric Bat, this was the fourth floor of the World Dungeon, so it shouldn't surpass the low twenties. He could kill it with a bit of luck.

  The question was, what then? He didn't have wings to fly away, and his leg was too busted to realistically climb down the cliff face. He could also hear the beating of their wings as they approached through the darkness, so he didn't have long to make a move.

  "Gerald isn't going to bother saving me, is he?" Vesper mumbled, spitting blood to the side. If it were Randy or Valoria taken, he might make an effort. But for me? He shook his head. There's no way. I could see it in Gerald's eyes that no matter how much he talks and appears human, he is a monster through and through. When our gazes first met, I could tell he saw me as a threat. Vesper snorted as he winced and looked at his ruined leg. Now I'm just a liability. Ha, I bet he's actually secretly happy about me being dealt with.

  More bats emerged from the darkness and settled down in a ring around him, sealing his chance of escape. He was now looking up at six hungry monsters that were all so close he could smell their putrid breath.

  "You kiss your mothers with that breath? Ah, never mind. I forgot none of you have mothers," he jeered at the monsters, even as his whole body trembled with fear. He had delved into the World Dungeon numerous times, faced death more times than he wished to admit, and been caked from head to toe in the blood of monsters. Yet this was by far the most scared he had ever been.

  He was really going to die.

  These sadistic monsters were simply toying with him until the end, likely enjoying how he squirmed under them in fear.

  Nobody was coming to save him.

  The reality of his imminent death slowly set in. Images of his family in the west that he hadn't seen in years flashed through his mind. Imagining how they would take the news of his death, despite telling him many times to stop delving, turned his blood to ice. Over twenty years of life on this godforsaken planet, just to be torn to shreds and devoured by some monsters that wouldn't even benefit from the little nutrition he would provide.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Monsters are just mana constructs created by the dungeon to kill you, his professor's words echoed in his mind. Even after killing you, they will not feel satisfied, as eternal hunger is instilled in them from creation. Do not try to befriend, reason, or otherwise interact with the monsters. It has already been tried and always failed. No matter how smart they may appear, all they want is to eat you, just like a crocodile. Remember that.

  Vesper wished he were facing a crocodile rather than a group of human-sized man-eating bats with fangs the size of knives. The bat that had captured him seemed unsatisfied by his fear and decided to bend down to grab at his arm with the claw on the end of its wing.

  A mistake.

  Vesper knew he was going to die, so he had no reason to hold back. If I'm going to die, I'll make you regret toying with me! With all his might, he swung at the bat's wing. "Dark infusion."

  Shadow mana coated his blade as it seemingly vanished into the darkness, making it almost invisible. He struck the bat's joint, and by how it howled in confusion, he had managed to trigger the skill's secondary effect and inflict temporary blindness upon the bat by landing what the system considered a critical strike.

  "Ha!" he cheered, unable to follow up for the kill as he couldn't move much from where he lay with his busted leg. "Is that all you guys got?" he said over the howling bat while uselessly waving his dagger around. The other bats eyed him with newfound wariness, but Vesper knew his death still loomed. He had simply taken a single bat's wing down with him.

  Does the dungeon heal the monsters with mana? Or will that bat be unable to fly for the rest of its miserable existence? Vesper wondered. Either way, he wouldn't live to find out the answer as the bats seemed to grow impatient with him and closed in once again.

  Well, I guess this is it, Vesper thought with resignation, closing his eyes as he didn't want to stare down the gullets of the drooling bats. What a shitty life this turned out to be...

  A sudden howl, so loud it echoed through the entire chasm, struck fear in his heart and left his ears ringing. He opened his eyes in horror as a bat larger than any other made an entrance, landing on the rocky outcrop with force and sending the other bats scampering back.

  So there really was a leader bat they were waiting for, Vesper winced. Somehow, the idea of being torn apart by this beast was a far more daunting end. It towered a head taller than any of the other bats, and even in the dim lighting, he could tell its eyes held a level of cunning intellect.

  "Good, you are still alive," it said with a low growl, shocking Vesper.

  "You... can talk?"

  The giant bat grinned. "Surprised to see me, Vesper?"

  Vesper? It knows my name? How... wait. There's no way.

  "Gerald?" he asked cautiously, only for the massive bat to grin even wider and tilt it's head downwards, showing Ghostwire's mask attached to its forehead.

  "I've come to rescue you," the bat growled, and the surrounding bats shifted their hostility from Vesper to the newcomer. "Now close your eyes. This will all be over in a moment."

  Vesper did as instructed.

  "Orbs of light," Gerald the bat continued, and Vesper was glad he had listened, as even through his eyelids, the sudden flash of light made him wince. All of the surrounding bats hissed in pain and began panicking. Vesper had to cover his head with his arms and cower on the floor as fighting broke out.

  Vesper didn't get to see much of the fight, as once he finally got used to the blinding light, it was followed by a skill called Hellfire Howl, and a wave of searing hot fire overhead kept him pinned to the ground, shaking like a leaf.

  Besides the fact that Gerald could apparently breathe fire like a dragon or cast skills reserved for a priest class, none of that was the most shocking to Vesper. Instead, a single question replayed in his mind.

  Gerald really came to save me? Why?

  It didn't make any sense. Had his professor been wrong, and this monster in human skin really saw him as... what? A friend? Just the idea sounded ridiculous.

  "It's over, Vesper, you can relax now," Gerald said.

  Vesper slowly opened his eyes and took in the carnage all around him. The bats had been massacred, and while Gerald was dripping in blood, he doubted it was his own as he didn't see any visible wounds.

  "Gerald," he began, unable to hold back his curiosity. "Why did you come and save me?"

  "Randy and Valoria were very convincing," Gerald admitted as he pulled the head off a nearby corpse with a crunch and bit into it. The skull cracked under the might of his Vampiric Bat's jaw, and he devoured the brain contained within with his slimy tendrils.

  Vesper winced. "I see. I guess I'll have to thank them for saving me once again."

  Gerald grunted in agreement and went about his feast. Vesper left him to it and just sat there in a daze, too stunned that he had survived. He had mentally prepared himself for death, so finding himself alive was disorienting.

  "Do you want to be dangled from my claws or ride on my back?" Gerald asked after a while.

  "Sorry?"

  "Do you—"

  "Sorry," Vesper repeated, shaking his head. "I heard you the first time. I was just in a bit of a daze. I'll, uh, take the ride on your back if you will allow it. My legs are in bad shape, so dangling will be painful."

  "Alright," Gerald said, positioning himself before him with his wings wide open and his back facing him. "Get on and hold tight."

  Vesper practically dragged himself across the floor and managed to clamber onto Gerald's back. His fur was surprisingly soft, like a cat's, and Gerald's leathery wings had a texture closer to bed sheets than leather, as he had expected.

  "Secure?" Gerald asked.

  Vesper nodded as he tightened his hold.

  "Good, let's go," Gerald said and threw himself off the edge of the rocky outcrop.

  Gerald might have let out a small yelp as they dove into the chasm's abyss, and the sound of rushing water grew louder. Just as Vesper was growing concerned that he was too heavy, Gerald spread his wings, and they soared upwards before finding a gliding altitude.

  I really survived. I can't believe it.

  Vesper spent most of the ride trying not to fall and holding back tears from the pain in his leg.

  "I think that's the entrance to the fifth floor over there," Gerald said, slowing down a little and tilting his body to give Vesper a view. Sure enough, there was a staircase built into the rock leading deeper. "It's not too far from where we encountered the Gnolls. Perhaps only an hour's walk along the cliff's path."

  Vesper shuddered at the thought of an hour's walk.

  "Don't worry," Gerald chuckled. "I'll carry you the rest of the way."